
Riverhawk Reminders
Week of February 24th
Newsletter topics include:
- Upcoming Events
- Grade Expungement
- Yearbooks for Sale
- Screen Sanity Event
- All Pro Dads
- Varsity Tutors
- NJHS Updates
- Department of EL FACE Updates
- YAS Updates
Tuesday, March 4th - All Pro Dads at 8am in the library
Thursday, March 13th - Screen Sanity Event
LCPS Family Survey
We need to hear from you!
The LCPS Annual Family Survey will be emailed to you on February 24. The LCPS Annual Staff, Student and Family Survey is the most extensive and influential feedback survey conducted by Loudoun County Public Schools each year. We use the results to assess the learning climate in our building and make plans for the following year. We want to hear from everyone so that we can make the best decisions for ALL our students!
The parent/family survey will only take a few minutes of your time. You will receive an email from Dr. Aaron Spence that will include a link to take the survey. You will be asked to fill out a survey for each school in which you have a child enrolled (elementary, middle, high or program). For more information go to Stakeholder Surveys 2025 Information webpage.
If you do not receive a survey email by February 24, contact research@lcps.org.
Thank you for sharing your opinion with us!
Expungement for High School Credit Courses
Middle school students who have taken a high school course while in sixth, seventh, or eighth grade may elect to have the course expunged (grade and credit omitted) from the student’s high school records. The high school credit courses available to middle school students include the following, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra II/Trig, Robotics and World Languages. Student’s GPA and class standing will not include the grade from the expunged course, nor will the student receive a credit toward graduation for this course.
Students are not required to repeat a high school-credited course that has been expunged, unless it is a prerequisite and needed to fulfill a graduation requirement. LCPS requires that courses taken in mathematics and world language follow a sequence of courses that include prerequisites and no pre-requisite course may be expunged without repeating.
Course Progressions:
If a high school math course is expunged in 7th or 8th grade, the results will be one of the following:
Student will retake the course in 8th or 9th grade or,
Student will retake the course in the summer (if applicable)
If a high school world language course is expunged in 7th or 8th grade, the results will be one of the following:
Student will repeat the course in 8th or 9th grade, or
Student can switch to a different World Language Elective, or
Student can switch to a different elective
Student can retake the course in the summer (if applicable)
If a middle school student receives a grade of “F” in a high school credit bearing course, that grade and course will automatically be expunged by your student’s school counselor. No permission click response needed.
Students do have an opportunity to enroll in summer courses through Virtual Loudoun Online Learning. Summer courses taken following the promotion of 8th grade are not eligible for expungement.
Strong consideration should be given for expunging low grades in credit-bearing courses. Below are some additional examples to consider:
Grades lower than a B- will equate to less than 3.0 GPA
Mastered or feel confident with the content? Expunging and repeating gives students an opportunity to increase their understanding of the content and improve the grade
If you wish to expunge the grade for a high school course taken in middle school, the expungement form must be completed through Permission Click. Expungement requests should be submitted to the school counseling department no later than the end of the first quarter of the 2025-2026 school year.
Please note the following:
If your student is a current sixth or seventh grader, please submit the form to your student's middle school counselor. This link can be found at the bottom of your Middle School Web site and is linked below
BEM Rising 7th/8th link to expunge
If your student is a current eighth grader, please submit the form on or before the end of the first quarter of the 2025-2026 school year through your student’s home high school link. Please assure you are using the correct link.
Riverside Rising 9th link
If your student is attending a different high school, please reach out to your student’s school counselor to receive the correct link.
Courses taken in middle school cannot be expunged after the end of the first quarter of the 2025-2026 school year.
To successfully meet the prerequisite requirements for course sequencing students may be enrolled in the same course they are expunging for the upcoming school year,
Example: Algebra 1 is expunged in 8th grade, must repeat Algebra 1 in 9th grade
Please be advised that the decision to expunge a grade is irreversible.
If you have questions, please contact your child's middle school counselor.
Thank you.
Is your family in need of a little screen-life balance? Save the date for our Screen Sanity Parent Night, an event that will equip you with tools and techniques for raising happy, healthy kids in an increasingly digital world. RSVP below.
Screen Sanity Parent Night
Thursday, Mar 13, 2025, 06:00 PM
Belmont Ridge Middle School, Upper Belmont Place, Leesburg, VA, USA
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Our next All Pro Dad meeting is coming soon, on date at time. Join us for this month’s topic: First Rate Sidekick We will spend intentional time encouraging our kids with fun activities and character-strengthening conversations!
We would love to see you and your kids there! Please RSVP here: https://allprodadchapters.com/chapters/15314
For more information or questions, contact our team captain, Mr. McKenzie at david.mckenzie@lcps.org.
Varsity Tutoring
Loudoun County Public Schools has partnered with Varsity Tutors for Schools to provide personalized virtual tutoring. Your child will have the opportunity to receive tutoring services at home, at no cost to students and families, as an additional layer of academic support.
Varsity Tutors for Schools has the largest live learning platform in the United States, providing personalized support. Your child can engage with an expert tutor who will provide instruction specific to your student’s unique learning goals.
If you would like your child to utilize this tutoring service, please complete the form linked below. Soon after completing the form you will receive a call and email from Varsity Tutors (from 888/703-594-4982 and member.services@varsitytutors.com) to get tutoring services started. You will need to set up a parent account, sign the Terms of Use agreement, and have your student take a 30-minute diagnostic assessment. Once done, your student will meet with a regular tutor twice a week and work in the Varsity Tutors for Schools Live Learning Platform, an engaging online learning environment, to receive additional instruction on the skills and concepts they need help with.
Complete this form to schedule tutoring: Contact Information Form
Congratulations Mehna!
Congratulations! Mehna Majjiga has been selected as a local finalist in the National Civics Bee®!
AMC8 Results: Congratulations to Our Top 3 Winners!
We are excited to announce the outstanding achievements of our students in the AMC8 (American Mathematics Competition). After a challenging and inspiring competition, we are proud to recognize the top three winners:
- Hanna Hong, 8th Grade
- Akanksha Jha, 8th Grade; Jack Garvin, 8th Grade (Tie)
- Kavin Nair, 7th Grade; Nathan Nair, 7th Grade; Vidhu Reddy, 6th Grade (Tie)
These students demonstrated exceptional problem-solving skills and mathematical talent, and we couldn't be prouder of their hard work and dedication. Congratulations to all participants for their efforts and hard work!
National Junior Honor Society
10 of our current NJHS members met last Thursday after school to make sandwiches for the Loudoun Homeless Shelter. These students made, bagged, and labeled 113 sandwiches in less than 40 minutes! This project was supported by proceeds from last December's Candy Cane fundraiser.
Current NJHS students: there will be additional volunteer opportunities in March. Please stay tuned into the NJHS Schoology page for project descriptions and signup information. As always, please also look to your community for additional ways to give back.
7th grade students and 8th grade students (who are not already current NJHS members) who achieved all A's in the first and second grading periods of this year are eligible for NJHS membership. Email notifications will be sent out the week of March 3, to both students and parents. The emails will include a welcome document with information about your membership, and the Code of Conduct that is required of all new members. We are still awaiting confirmation from Riverside on the date of the Induction Ceremony, so your patience is appreciated as we cannot send anything out until those details are in place. If you have any questions about NJHS at Belmont Ridge, please visit our website at https://www.lcps.org/o/bem/page/national-junior-honor-society or send an email to NJHS adviser Susan Ferguson at Susan.Ferguson@lcps.org. Thank you!
Division of EL, Family and Community Engagement (EL FACE) Office Presentations
The Welcome to LCPS EL Family Workshop is designed to provide a brief orientation to new EL families about the U.S. School System and LCPS. Sessions are held at the Historic Douglas High School in
April 3rd
May 1st
June 5th
See Welcome to LCPS flyer to learn more.
Virtual Event
This virtual informative session will include information about LCPS and the U.S School system and a toolkit to support student's transition to LCPS will be shared.
Thursday, March 6th - 6:30pm-7:30pm
Sessions will be available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Farsi/Dari. Please see flyers below to access the meeting link:
Families can register by completing this Google Form.
Contact Sarah.Ocampo@lcps.org, DEL FACE Supervisor, with any questions.
Reminders
** Any messages sent from BEMS through our Blackboard account (noreply.belmontridge@lcps.org) come from an account that is not monitored. Please use our website to locate the email addresses of any staff members you need to contact. Thank you. **
Belmont Ridge Middle School
Website: https://www.lcps.org/o/bem
Location: 19045 Upper Belmont Place, Lansdowne, VA, USA
Phone: 571-252-2220